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UK’s Labour Party candidate Shabana Mahmood speaks up about her harassment for 14 years

BIRMINGHAM: Shabana Mahmood, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Birmingham Ladywood and a close ally of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, has shared that her 14 years in public life as a Pakistani-Kashmiri Muslim woman in the UK have been marked by intimidation and harassment. She emphasized that being a Muslim woman in public life is challenging.

She explained that she had not previously discussed such harassment because she did not want to discourage others, especially women, from entering politics due to the intimidation and harassment they might face.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Justice emphasized that in a free democracy, everyone should participate in elections without fear of harassment or abuse. Intimidating women out of the democratic process is unacceptable, she said, stressing the importance of candidates standing for election and voters casting their votes freely and without coercion.

Mahmood shared her experience in a current environment filled with divisions and hate, much of it misogynistic and driven by fake news. In her Birmingham constituency, which she won around 14 years ago, she faces a lot of misinformation, fake news, and misogynistic attacks from a group of men aiming to oust her in this election. Her posters have been torn down in several parts of the constituency, and she has been falsely accused of various things, with social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram being used to direct hate at her.

Like several other Labour and Tory politicians, Mahmood is strictly constrained by party discipline and cannot say anything not approved by the party. Despite these challenges, she expressed deep pride and honor in representing a minority faith and ethnicity in public life, hoping for a future where these challenges can be openly addressed.

As the sole Muslim woman in a key parliamentary role, Mahmood finds motivation in her position. Winning the election would bring the substantial responsibility of leading a political department, a duty that drives her to work towards a brighter future for future generations.

Mahmood has served as the head of the Labour Party’s election campaign during by-elections over the past two years and has been a member of the Labour Party’s National Executive Committee since 2016, playing a key role in preparing the party manifesto for the upcoming 4 July elections.

Addressing the Palestine issue and the ongoing war in Gaza, Mahmood stated that innocent children are being killed, cruelty is rampant, and millions of people are deeply saddened and affected by it. She asserted that the Labour Party believes in a two-state solution as the only way to end the Palestine-Israel conflict. Upon assuming power, the party plans to initiate a peace process led by David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with the goal of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza through dedicated diplomatic efforts.

When asked about plans to improve the situation of deprived communities in the UK, Mahmood criticized the Conservative Party’s 14 years in power, attributing funding cuts and deteriorating public services to their governance. She noted that Labour would immediately allocate resources to public services, including appointing more doctors, teachers, and police officers, with the foremost priority being economic growth and prosperity to support these services.

Mahmood concluded by urging voters to choose Labour on July 5 to end the Tory governance and work towards a better future.

Written By

I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.

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